Document2 09.16.02 11:08 AM Page 1 Get in the Game! 1100100100100100100 iscover how to research, meet the right industry people, access nadvertised job market, sell yourself, create the perfect demo, b he competition, handle interviews, and negotiate a salary packag Pre-Publication Galley Proof © 2003, New Riders Publishing by Marc Mencher 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page i Get in the Game! CAREERS IN THE GAME INDUSTRY Marc Mencher 201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46290 An Imprint of Pearson Education Boston • Indianapolis • London • Munich • New York • San Francisco 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page ii Publisher GET IN THE GAME: CAREERS IN THE GAME David Dwyer INDUSTRY Associate Publisher Stephanie Wall Copyright 2003 by New Riders Publishing Editor in Chief All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval Chris Nelson system, or transmitted by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without written permission from the publisher, except Production Manager Gina Kanouse for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Managing Editor International Standard Book Number: 0-7357-1307-3 Kristy Knoop Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002103198 Acquisitions Editor Printed in the United States of America Jody Kennen First edition: October 2002 Senior Marketing Manager 06 05 04 03 02 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Tammy Detrich Interpretation of the printing code: The rightmost double-digit number is the Publicity Manager year of the book’s printing; the rightmost single-digit number is the number of Susan Nixon the book’s printing. For example, the printing code 02-1 shows that the first Senior Development printing of the book occurred in 2002. Editor Jennifer Eberhardt Trademarks Copy Editor All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service Kelli Brooks marks have been appropriately capitalized. New Riders Publishing cannot attest Senior Indexer to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be Cheryl Lenser regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Composition Jeff Bredenstiener Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as Manufacturing possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied. The information is provided on Coordinator an as-is basis. The authors and New Riders Publishing shall have neither liabil- Jim Conway ity nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages Book Designer arising from the information contained in this book or from the use of the CD Aren Howell or programs that may accompany it. Cover Designer Beverly Cambron Aren Howell ii 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page iii CONTENTS AT A GLANCE Part I Industry Background 1 Introduction to the Gaming Industry 5 2 Common Tools of the Trade 15 Part II Careers in Gaming 3 Playability, Testing, and Quality Assurance (QA) 25 4 Designers 41 5 Programmers 63 6 Artists 93 7 Producers 119 Part III Preparing for the Career You Want 8 Getting Organized and Networking 147 9 Preparing Your Demo 161 10 Your Résumé, Pitch, and References 173 Part IV Getting the Career You Want 11 Deploying Your Resume and Scoring an Interview 205 12 Interviewing 215 13 Salary Negotiation 223 14 Working with Recruiters 235 15 Staying Employed 241 Part V Resources A Resources 247 Index 271 iii 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I Industry Background 1 Introduction to the Gaming Industry 5 In the Beginning A Brief History Lesson 5 Game Genres 10 Action 10 Strategy 10 Role Playing Games (RPGs) 11 Adventure 11 Puzzles 11 Sports 11 Simulations 12 Kids, Family, and Edutainment 12 Hybrids 12 Industry Structure 12 Publishers 12 Developers 12 Hardware Manufacturers 13 Game Development Process 13 2 Common Tools of the Trade 15 Business Applications Software 15 Programming Languages 16 C16 C++ 16 Visual Basic 17 Java 17 Assembly 17 iv 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page v 3D: Animation and Modeling Software 18 3D Studio Max by Discreet 19 Maya by Alias|Wavefront 19 SoftImage by Avid 19 LightWave by NewTek 9 2D: Bitmap and Vector-Based Graphics Software 20 Adobe Photoshop and Others 20 Adobe Illustrator 20 Part II Careers in Gaming 3 Playability Testing & Quality Assurance (QA) 25 Testing Versus QA 26 Beta Tester 26 Playability Testing 26 Black Box Testing Versus White Box Testing 27 Quality Assurance 28 Traditional Software QA Versus Games QA 31 Automated Testing for Games 32 Typical Job Titles and Focus 33 Temporary Playability Tester 33 Compatibility Tester 33 Lead Tester or Game Analyst 34 Game Tester or Analyst 35 Supervisor/Manager 36 QA Engineer 36 QA Supervisor/Manager or Director 37 QA Supervisor/Manager or Director—Years Experience: 6-15 37 Tools of the Trade 37 College Knowledge 37 Know the Genre 37 Strong Grammar and Writing Skills 38 v 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page vi Database Software 38 Know How to Create a Test Plan 38 Microsoft Excel 39 Scripting Languages 39 Programming Languages 39 Compatibility Testing 39 Wrap-Up 39 4 Designers 41 Typical Job Titles and Focus 42 Interface Designer 42 Level Designer/World Builders 44 Lead Level Designer 46 Game Designer 46 Lead Game Designer 47 Director of Game Design 49 Tools of the Trade 51 The Tools and Skills You’ll Need 52 The Design Document 53 Creating a Design Document 53 Experiment with As Many Different Genres As You Can 62 5 Programmers 63 You Love Games and Possess a Noted Knack for the Technical, So, Where Do You Sign Up? 64 Typical Job Titles and Focus 65 Associate/Junior Programmer 65 Engine and Tools Programmer 66 Graphics Game Programmer 66 Networking Programmer 66 vi 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page vii Artificial Intelligence (AI) Programmer 66 Audio Programmer 67 Miscellaneous Programmer Positions 67 Overview of Programmer Responsibilities 67 Game Programmer 67 Project Lead/Lead Programmer 69 Technology Director 72 Development Director or VP of Development 74 Development Director 74 Tools of the Trade 75 The Tools You’ll Need 76 Popular Programming Languages 79 Popular Operating Systems 79 Gaming Platforms 81 How to Get There 83 Skill Levels 83 Education 87 Ideal Programmer Qualities 91 6 Artists 93 Typical Job Titles and Focus 94 Art Director 95 Lead Artist 96 Lead Animator 98 Lead Concept/Storyboard Artist 100 2D Artist 100 3D Artist 101 Character Animator 102 Environment Modeler 103 Skins Artist 103 vii 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page viii Texture Artist 103 Cinematics Artist 103 Package Design and Marketing Artist 103 Tools and Skills You’ll Need 104 Artistic Abilities 104 The Art Production Pipeline 105 Concept Phase 105 Prototype Phase 106 Full Production Phase 107 Modeling 108 Texturing 110 Animating 111 GUI—Interface Design 112 Art Integration—Putting All of the Art Assets Together 113 How to Get There 114 Education 114 The Skills You’ll Need 114 Define a Career Goal and Prepare Yourself 116 Marketing Your Talent to the World 116 Landing a Job and What Happens Next 117 7 Producers 119 Job Titles and Focus 120 Executive Producer 120 Producer 122 Associate Producer 123 Tools and Skills You’ll Need 125 The “Double Check” Technique 125 Tools of the Trade: A Simple and Effective Project Tracking Worksheet 128 viii 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page ix Demonstrating Your Abilities 130 Finance 131 The ABCs of Running a Development Project 131 The Concept and Selling It to Management 131 The Development Company and Team 134 Pre-Production: Design, Technical Design, and Playable Prototype 136 The Development Schedule and Milestone Descriptions 136 Full Production: Tracking Progress 139 Keeping the Team Happy Through the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 140 Calling Potential Problems to the Table Early 140 Part III Preparing for the Career You Want 8 Getting Organized and Networking 147 Getting Organized 148 Using a Database 148 Targeting Your Search and Gathering Leads 149 The Way HR Departments Really Work 150 Job Hunting Is Like Selling Anything—It’s a Number’s Game 151 Your Personalized Networking Campaign 152 Networking—It’s Just Focused Socializing. Do It for Life. 152 Enroll People in Your Life Goals. Use a One-Minute Pitch. 153 Cold Calling or Contacting 156 Begin Networking Now! 156 Wrap-Up 159 9 Preparing Your Demo 161 Getting Your Demo Together 162 Your Demo Must Capture Interest and Amaze the Viewer Immediately 162 ix 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page x Think Ahead of Time About the Impression You Are Trying to Make 162 Show Your Best Stuff First and End It There 163 Credit Everything You Use 164 Create Original Content 164 Use the Internet to Display Your Work 164 Keep Copies of Everything You Do 165 Regularly Update Your Demo 165 Creating Your Demo 166 Level Designer and Game Designer Demos 166 Game Programmer Demos 168 Game Artist Demos 169 Putting It All Together 171 10 Your Résumé, Pitch, and References 173 Writing Your Résumé 173 Present Your Skills in a Way to Capture the Attention of the Reader 174 Forget the One-Page Résumé Rule 174 Instead of an Objective Statement Use a Bulleted Summary of Skills, Accomplishments, or Benefits 175 Your Selling Points 175 Non-Industry Experience 177 Use a Clean Font such as Arial or Times New Roman 177 No Fancy Shmancy 177 Be Bold with Discretion 177 Tell the Whole Truth—Nothing but the Truth? 178 Accomplishments: What You Can Do for a Company Gets Attention 180 Sample Résumés 181 x 00_3073 FM 9/4/02 12:29 PM Page xi Securing Solid References Before You Need Them 198 Don’t Burn Bridges 198 Stay in Touch 199 The Reference Checklist 199 Part IV Getting the Career You Want 11 Deploying Your Resume and Scoring an Interview 205 Responding to Classified Ads and Online Job Boards or Postings 206 Don’t Lose Control of Who Has Your Resume 208 Creative and Wacky Ways to Get Attention 208 Targeted Job Hunt Campaign 210 Follow Up by Telephone, not Just Email 210 Creating Your Cover Email and One-Minute Pitch 211 The Email Structure 211 12 Interviewing 215 Interviewing Tips 216 Smile.